March 11, 2019– Mary Greeley News – While coyotes have been spotted in the Metro Vancouver area for many years, there seems to be a spike in recent sightings of the wily creatures.

Eight coyote sightings have been reported to the Stanley Park Ecological Society in the first week of March alone.

Of course, this isn’t a particularly alarming figure – but some of the encounters are rather unsettling. For instance, an encounter on March 6 describes how a “dog chased one coyote and was pursued by three others.” In addition, a number of encounters involve coyotes following people with dogs.

And while the SPES displays all of the sightings that are called in on its Coyote Sightings Map, not all sightings are reported.

What’s more, the Stanley Park Ecology Society coyote sighting map reports a vast number of sightings in January 2019 alone. One sighting indicates how a, “Coyote seemed to be following person and dog at a distance of 100 metres,” while another states how there were, “4 coyotes that seem hard to chase off.”

Perhaps most disturbing of all, a recent sighting on January 23 at 1:35 pm notes how a, “Police officer witnessed coyote chasing several different children. Conservation Officers have been notified.” In addition, this type of encounter is listed as ‘aggressive to people.’

Co-Existing with Coyotes – Vancouver. The most important fact on this site is that if you feed urban coyotes they may become aggressive and then they have to be destroyed. If you love your neighbourhood coyote don’t feed it. https://t.co/mlY0pjESAE

SPES also recommends keeping your dog on a leash when going out for walks, especially at night. Both dogs killed in the North Shore last month were off leash at the time of the attacks.

Keeping cats safe can be more difficult due to their solitary nature and desire to wander. SPES strongly advises keeping cats indoors if possible. Barring that, keeping them inside during the night will reduce the chances of encounters with the largely nocturnal coyotes.

Credit : In part with https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/01/25/coyote-sightings-vancouver-children/
And https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/01/25/coyote-sightings-vancouver-children/
And https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/03/10/increased-chance-of-encountering-coyotes-in-metro-vancouver/